When Rain Drops Fall
by FunSizeFreak
Summary: 13 year old Vanessa is abused by her father, who's a drunk. She decides anythings better than that and runs away from home. I'm not good at summeries so read it and tell me what you think.Rated T for violence.
1. A Wish Upon A Star

**Disclaimer- I don't own PJO.**

When Rain Drops Fall

Chapter 1: A wish upon a star

_*flashback*_

My mom is leaving. It's spring, everything looks so green outside. It's raining. I'm in my room. Mom and Dad are in a fight. I can hear yelling through my door. I heard a smack. Mom got angry, I could tell from the silence. She grabbed some cloths and money and jogged out the door. She took the car and drove away. I watched her out my window, the rain blurring everything.

_I don't understand, _I thought. _Where's Mom going? Why didn't she take me with her?_

_BANG! _My door slamming open interrupted my thoughts. Before I could turn around, a hand grabbed the back of my shirt and lifted me in the air. It turned me around and I saw Dad. He looked angry.

"Wha-" I started to ask.

"It's your fault," his voice was a whisper. "It's your fault she left, you know. And she isn't coming back. She left because of you," he was getting louder and louder and he started shaking me.

I was scared. I couldn't speak. What was he saying? Mom isn't coming back? But why? And why was it my fault?

Suddenly he flung me against the wall. I smacked my head on he corner of the dresser. My vision started blurring. I could see Dad walking toward me. I tried to get up but he kicked me in the side. I screamed in pain. He kept kicking me and yelling.

"It's your fault she left, you worthless animal! She left because of you! You'll regret it. By the time I'm done with you, you'll regret ever being born!"

He kicked me again. This time he hit my head. I blacked out.

I woke up to a beeping noise. I felt sleepy and out of it and my eyelids felt to heavy to open. After a minute I gave up trying to open them and just listened. I heard the unfamiliar voice of a man. I tried to make out the words. If I focused I could hear it. "-three fractured ribs and slightly concussed," there was a pause as a different voice spoke. I couldn't quite hear this one but I could tell it was a man also. The first voice came back. "Yes, she'll be fine. She'll just need to spend some time here and rest a lot."

The voices seemed to be fading away. Morphing into a song, a lullaby.

_Hush-a-by,_

_don't you cry_

_Go to sleep my little baby_

_When you wake,_

_you shall have_

_all the pretty little horses_

_Blacks and Bays,_

_Dapples and Grays_

_All the pretty little horses…_

_*end flashback*_

**(A/N) I also don't own that song and can't remember what it's called or who it's by.**

**So… first chapter, love it? Hate it? Review and tell me what ya think. All you have to do is push the review button, leave a comment, and push send. Not to much to ask.**

**No flames please. I'd appreciate constructive criticism. If you don't know what either of those are then…**

**Flames- I hate this story, it sucks!**

**Constructive criticism- This story could use a little help in the … department. **

**Or something like that. R&R**


	2. Bercruse

**Well that first chapter was really short, hopefully this one will be longer.**

Chapter 2: Berceuse (lullaby)

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ I groaned and hit my alarm clock. I got out of bed and got dressed, not really paying attention to what I was wearing. Everything was to small and slightly dirty anyway. I walked over to my door, cracked it open, and peeked out. Good. He was asleep… or passed out. I snuck closer and decided he was passed out from drinking too much the previous night. The 'he' I'm referring to is my dad. He was laying on the couch, snoring, with an empty bottle of beer clenched in his fist.

I walked across the room to the bathroom and started to brush my hair. It was gnarly and unyielding. I sighed, glad I remembered to set my alarm clock today or I would definitely be late for school today, because this was going to take forever.

After I got ready for school I grabbed my bag and my jacket and was out the door. I had to walk to school, it was only one mile away and my father didn't want to pay for a school bus. So I walked. It was relatively nice out today, or at least it wasn't freezing. I pulled on my jacket and backpack and started off. I looked around. It was beautiful this time of year. Autumn, I mean. There were multicolored leaves everywhere, all over the ground and some still on the trees. Every time I took a step you could hear the leaves crunching under my feet.

About a half hour of waking later, the school came into sight. _Mountain High Middle School, _the sign out front said_. _**(A/N I just made that up so if you really do go to a Mountain High Middle School don't be offended by the way I describe it.) **Although from years of neglect it actually said _Mo t in H gh Midd e S hoo. _I sighed as I started walking up the sidewalk to the school. No one else was outside, as usual; no one wanted to be seen hanging around this place.

The inside looked much the same as the outside; dull, empty, and lifeless. I walked down the hall to my locker, opened it, put my bag in, and headed off to advisory.

I was staring out the window when my advisory teacher, Mr. Shanz, called roll. "Ashley,"

"Here,"

"Zachary,"

"Here,"

"Shaylie,"

"…"

He paused for a second to mark Shaylie absent, then continued on. I stopped paying attention because I knew my name wouldn't come for a while. I spent a couple more minutes staring out the window, thinking. I guess I zoned out because I was jolted out of my thoughts when Mr. Shanz, somewhat annoyedly, called out, "Vanessa! You need to pay attention when I'm calling roll or I'll mark you absent."

"Yes sir," I answered quickly.

The rest of the day went by in a blur until seventh hour. Once again I zoned out during class. My teacher, Mrs. Lambertson, called on me to answer a question. I quickly looked at the SMART board, which had the problem 3x + 4y = 12 on it and said, "Uhhhh…. Four?" which was usually my response to questions I didn't know the answers to. She could tell I hadn't been paying attention because I had used this tactic on her before when I couldn't make out the numbers in the problems. I had dyslexia. Numbers were easier than letters but I still sometimes got them mixed up. Especially when I was distracted, which was a lot of the time.

Mrs. Lambertson sighed, "Vanessa, see me after class," She said kindly. And to the rest of the class, "Can someone else tell me the slope?"

Ashley, the same person that was in my advisory, raised her hand and said smugly, "The slope is -3 over 4," while in the process shooting me a dirty look, like I was something she stepped on and was now stuck to the bottom of her shoe.

"Yes, good job Ashley," said Mrs. Lambertson. Ashley shot me another smug look and stuck her tongue out. Childish.

After the bell rang I walked slowly back to Mrs. Lamberson's desk. "Hello," I asked quietly. Mrs. Lamberson looked up from her paperwork and said, "Ah, yes, Vanessa. About the issue of you not paying attention. I know you have ADHD but you need to at least make an effort to listen when I'm talking… Are you even listening now?"

I jolted out of my thoughts and nodded, not really paying attention to what the question was. Mrs. Lambertson sighed, knowing that I wasn't really. She then said, "I'll let you off the hook this time but please make an effort to at least _look_ like you're listening instead of just staring out the window."

I silently nodded my head. She sighed again and said, "You should be getting home, walk safe, okay?" I nodded again and walked out of her classroom. When I turned the corner next to her room I ran straight into something and knocked it down. I immediately started to apologize, when I realized the person I knocked down was Ashley. She shrieked indignantly, and started screaming, "OH EM GEE! I think I broke a nail! I can't believe you just ran into me. You're such a clumsy oaf!" She got up hurriedly and started inspecting all of her nails separately, like each had the value of a diamond.

She shrieked and shoved her hand toward my face. "Eew! Gross, look what you did!" I looked at her nail and didn't see anything wrong with it. I looked up at her, puzzled. She pointed to her middle finger and I saw that there was a bit of dirt under the nail. I shrugged, no big deal, she could just wash it off. She shrieked again, I was beginning to think she was half dolphin or something…

"Oh em gee, you are such a jerk," Ashley stalked off, muttering under her breath. I shrugged again, I didn't care what she thought about me. I walked outside and stared toward my house. I suddenly noticed that without Ashley here complaining, it was ominously quiet. There wasn't even my feet crunching leaves anymore. I looked down, confused. There weren't any leaves on the ground anymore. I frowned and started to glance around, where were all the leaves? What was that sound? I glanced up quickly and looked around…

**POV:** **Anonymous**

An unknown creature squatted in the bushes, watching its prey. _Stupid girl. So slow. And stupid. Easy to catch. _The creature started getting closer to its prey, a girl standing on the sidewalk, staring at the ground. She suddenly looked up and glanced around nervously. The creature cursed, it had stepped on a dead branch. _Such an amateur thing to do. Need to be careful. Pay attention. _The girl started walking again, a bit faster than before. She glanced behind her and stumbled. The creature took its chance and lunged. _Stupid girl…_

It felt like someone or something was watching me. I glanced behind me and stumbled. I looked forward again and tried to get my footing back when something slammed into my back and I was flung forward. I tried to catch myself and felt something crack in my wrist. _Ouch…_ I turned to look at what attacked me and felt it slam my head into the concrete. My eyes started fluttering and the world started to go black. The last thing I saw was a hunched over figure leaning over me with a sinister grin on its face and slightly glowing red eyes. Then everything went black…

**R&R. Tell me whatcha thought about it.**


	3. Captured

**Here's chapter 3, sorry it took so long, I've had some personal issues that you probably don't wanna hear about. I hope you like it. **

Chapter 3: Captured

When I woke up, I knew it immediately. It felt like someone had lit my head on fire and tried to put it out with a bucket of gasoline_. Owwwww… _It felt like I was laying on a concrete floor. I groaned and opened my eyes. It was really dim. I couldn't see that well so I listened and tried to sit up. I instantly found out that this was not the right move when something hard hit me in the head and I, once again, passed out.

**~~VANESSA~~**

When I came to this time I smartened up and didn't move. I tried to keep my breathing slow and steady. This time it felt as though I was rocking back and forth slightly, like I was on a boat. I peeked open one eye. Although still dim, the room was lighter than before, and saw a cement wall. I pretended to stir in my sleep and rolled over to my other side. I listened intently and heard at least one other person breathing close by. Their breathing sounded like they were trying to be quiet, although they were failing miserably. After listening for a minute I decided to take my chances and open my eyes. I instinctively flinched backwards, for there was a pair of shockingly green eyes staring right back at me. I felt myself falling through the air and tried to catch myself. I instantly regretted this as I felt a sharp pain in my left arm and cried out, hitting the floor with a muted thump.

Immediately the other person-or what I assumed was a person-put their hand over my mouth to quiet me. "Shhh, if they hear you we'll both be in trouble," a feminine voice whispered right in my ear. I looked around to get my bearings. I was in a cement cell with bars on one side and a small window on the opposite side that also had metal bars. The floor was also cement with dull redish brown stains on it that I suspected were not from catsup. I gulped and kept looking. Above me was a single cot, I realized this had been what I was sleeping on, and _a_ _tree_ in the corner?

I also noticed the girl. She looked a few years younger than me with long dark brown hair and a slight build. She was wearing a green dress that looked like it had once been nice but now was the equivalent of glorified rags. She was quite pale and her skin had a greenish tinge. She was also staring at me intently. I noticed her hand was still over my mouth. Suddenly she said, rather loudly considering she just told me to be quiet, "Well? Aren't you gunna reply? Also, it's not very polite to stare."

I realized I had been sitting there studying her for a few minutes, and jolted out of it. I pointedly looked at her hand covering my mouth. "Oh! Silly me," she exclaimed, taking her hand away. "What's your name? Mine's Auna, Auna Rainey Day. Isn't that cool?! It's just like 'on a rainy day.' I always loved rain," she said looking longingly out of the small window. "What about you?"

"Not particularly… Why does my head hurt so much?" I answered. She gave me a disapproving look and opened her mouth again. "Well that's no good. I think you should start liking rain. I mean, what's not to like about it? It gives plants water and helps create rainbows and it's pretty. Oh! And also, when it rains here, we can get extra water, 'cause it comes in through the window, and they don't usually give us that much water here, ya know?" She asked, looking at me like I actually did know, even though I had only just got here. When I didn't say anything she continued, "Anyways, you never did tell me your name. That's not very nice, is it? Oh, and I may have maybe, possibly, accidentally hit you with a stick when you woke up the first time…" As she neared the end of her sentence her voice lowered to a mumble and trailed off.

"You hit me with a stick?! Why?!" I said, angry.

"I panicked!" She exclaimed, and changed the subject. "Just tell me your name!" And she switched back to the last conversation again. "Besides, what would you do if you just got a new roommate and they suddenly woke up? What if they were dangerous?!"

I looked at her and paused, making sure she was done talking and pushing down my anger before I began. " Well I sure wouldn't have hit them with a stick. And I'm Vanessa," I said. "Why are you green?"

Auna pouted, "Didn't you learn any manners? You can't just go asking people that kind of question and not expect them to be offended. Lucky for you I'm forgiving. Anyway, it's be cause I'm a nymph." she stated proudly, looking like she expected me to be impressed. There was a short silence while I let this sink in then I said, "A what?"

Auna went from looking stunned to offended. "A nymph!" she exclaimed. "You know, the totally awesome tree spirits? Yeah I'm one of them! We're also described as _beautiful _young maidens." She looked at me expectantly.

"Ooook then, whatever you say. But can I get up? The ground is really hard…" I asked. "Oh! Yeah, here," she said grabbing my arm and pulling me up. I stumbled and reached out to the wall to steady myself. I leaned my hand on the wall and then realized that that was not a good idea. My wrist hurt so unexpectedly that I let go and fell right back on the floor. I blinked, surprised. "Ow."

Auna looked at me , also surprised "What are you doing on the ground, silly? I thought you didn't like it there."

"I don't," I say, holding up my left arm. "But I think my arm is broken, or something." She kneels down and presses on it. I wince. She pauses, "Yup. I think you're right. One sec." She closes her eyes and reaches her hand towards the tree I the corner of the cell. To my surprise, the tree reaches out too, until her hand and a branch are touching. She closes her hand around a branch. She pulls and the tree relinquishes its hold on the branch, as though it was just handing her a stick. She grabs the tree again and retrieves another branch. This one also just comes off in her hand. The sticks are about half as thick as my wrist and look to be around eight inches long.

Auna opens her eyes and sighs. "I need a little more practice, I still don't have it perfect. When it's just right, it'll take less time and there won't be any leaves left on the branches," she says, pulling off the remaining leaves and twigs and throwing them on the ground.

"Oook," I say, deciding to ignore the weirdness of what just happened. "Now that you have two sticks, what do you plan to do with them?" She looks at me and smiles. "Prepare to be amazed by my awesome nymph powers," she said mysteriously. Auna sets the sticks down and starts tearing off strips of fabric from one of the layers of her dress. She then picks up the stick and grabs my hurt arm. Auna sets one stick on top of my arm, from where my fingers start to about halfway up my forearm. She does the same with the other branch, only on the other side of my arm. She tells me to hold it there and I do. Now my arm is sandwiched between the two sticks. She then picks up one of the fabric strips and ties it around the two sticks and my hand. She repeats the process on my wrist, the end of the sticks and in-between the two. Now I have what looks like a make-do splint.

"Wait," Auna said suddenly. "Did you say your name is Vanessa?" She had a weird look on her face. "Yeah," I replied. "Hey, did you just realize I said my name is Vanessa?! Seriously, how long ago did I say that? Like eight minutes? God you're slow…"

She pouted, returning to how she was before. "There's no need to be rude, just answer the question." I paused and said, "Yeah, my name's Vanessa."

"Oh," I heard her mumble underneath her breath, "this complicates things…"

"What was that? Did you say something?" I asked her.

"No, nothing. Anyways, ta-da!" Auna says gesturing to my arm. "It's not much, but it's the best I can do with the resources we have here. I can't guarantee that your arm will heal perfectly but the splint should keep you from moving it around too much." I blinked, forgetting about our earlier conversation. "Auna, you're amazing! Where did you learn to do that?"

"I know I'm amazing," she says smugly. "I _am _a nymph after all. And my last roommate taught it to me, she's wonderful," she pauses suddenly, her face darkening. "Or rather, she was wonderful."

"_Was_? Why, what happened to her?" I asked. Auna looked me in the eye. "Yes, was. She's dead now. I watched her die," she said, her eyes haunted.

**(A/N) Well that's chapter three. It's pretty short but I'm going to try to make them longer from now on. Tell me what you thought about it, please.**


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